First Edition/2016

Basic Grammar
Level 1
By: Irwansyah,
S.Pd
Guru SMP Sandika
Sukajadi

(Untuk Kalangan
sendiri)

Daftar Isi
Material
Present Simple: To Be
Possessives
Articles: A, An, The
This, That, These, Those
Present Simple
Can / Can't / Have to / Don't Have to
Prepositions: In, At, On
Past Simple: To Be
Past Simple: Regular Verbs
Past Simple: Irregular Verbs
There is / There are
Present Continuous
Present Simple or Continuous
Countable and Uncountable
Future with Going To
Comparative Adjectives
Superlative Adjectives
Adverbs
Present Perfect: Verb be
Present Perfect: Other Verbs
Present Perfect or Past Simple

Simple Present Tense with Be

Positive:
I am

Im

from Japan.

you / we / they are

youre / were / theyre

from Brazil.

he / she / it is

hes / shes / its

from India.

Negative:
I am not

Im not

married.

you / we / they
are not

Youre not / You arent

Were not / We arent
Theyre not / They
arent
He isnt / Hes not
She isnt / Shes
not It isnt / Its
not

happy.

he / she / it
is not

a student.

Question:
Am

beautiful?

Are

you / we / they

a teacher?

Is

he / she / it

tall?

Dipergunakan untuk menyatakan:

- Nama (name) :
Im Joanna.
Hes Paulo.
Theyre Aki and Yuta.
- Kebangsaan (Country / Nationality):
Im from the U.S. Im American.
My husband is from Italy. Hes Italian.
Shes not Korean, shes Vietnamese.
Are they from Australia?
- Usia (Age) :
Im 27 years old.
How old are you?
Shes 15.
My mother is 65 years old.
- Emosi/Perasaan (Emotions):
Im sad.
Shes excited.
Youre angry.
Were happy.
- Profesi (Jobs):
Im not a student. Im a teacher.
Are you a doctor?
Hes a journalist.
Theyre artists.

Possessives (Kepemilikan)
NOUN

POSSESSIVE

EXAMPLE

My

My name is Sandra.

You

Your

Whats your name?

He

His

His name is John.

She

Her

Her computer is fast.

It

Its

We

Our

My car is old, so its engine isnt

powerful.
Our apartment is in the city center.

they

Their

My parents sold their house.

Mary

Marys

Marys phone number is 555-4321.

Joe

Joes

Joes favorite color is green.

the boy

the boys

The boys clothes are dirty.

friends

friends

Cat

cats

My friends names are Patrick and

Gloria.
My cats name is Ginger.

country

countrys

My countrys flag is red, white, and

blue.

Articles (Kata Sandang)

A, An, The

Im going to eat an apple.

Saya akan makan sebuah apel.

a / an

gener
al
(one
of
many)

Im going to eat the red apple.

Saya akan makan sebuah apel hijau

I want to buy a car.

Hes eating an
apple. Do you have
a bike? She is an
old woman. Im

the

specifi
c (one
specifi
c)

reading
book.
Tokyo is athe
capital of Japan.
The new Chinese restaurant is very
good. We like the blue car.
The girl in the red dress is beautiful.
Im reading the new book by J.K. Rowling.

Articles: A, An, The

Use an if the word starts with the sound of a, e, i, o, u
(Gunakan an jika katanya diawali oleh bunyi vocal):
an apple
an egg
an ice cream shop
an open door
an umbrella
an hour
Use a if the word starts with the sound of any other letter.
(Gunakan an jika katanya diawali oleh bunyi konsonan):

Do not use the with countries or cities

(jangan gunakan the

I live in the China.
I live in China.

Do not use the with things in general

(jangan gunakan the pada kata benda um

She likes the pizza.

She likes pizza.
She likes the pizza from Tonys Restaurant. (spec

This

1 thing near (benda Tunggal dekat)

That

1 thing far (benda Tunggal jauh)

These

2+ things near (benda jamak dekat)

Those

2+ things far (benda jamak jauh)

This apple is green.

(Apel ini hijau.)

These books are new.

(Buku-buku ini baru.)

That apple is red.

(Apel itu merah.)

Those books are old.

(Buku-buku itu tua.)

Simple Present Tense: Positive

Use the Simple Present Tense for things that happen regularly or
things that are generally true (Gunakan bentuk Simple Present Tense
untuk menyatakan hal yang terjadi secara teratur(kebiasaan) atau
untuk kebenaran yang diakui umum).
I / you / we / they

Work

he / she / it

Works

Examples:
I work in a bank.
He works at the university.
We work every day.
My sister works at the hospital.
Special Case #1
For verbs that end in consonant + y, we remove the y and add ies:
I study English at school.
Dana studies English at school.
Bill studys English at school

Other verbs like this include: cry, try, fly, carr

Special Case #2

For verbs that end in -o, -sh, -s, -ss, -ch, -x, we ad
They go to English class on Wednesday. She goes to cooking class on Saturday.
Other verbs like this include: watch, kiss, teach, fix

Simple Present Tense: Negative

I / you / we / they
he / she / it

dont

Like

doesn't

Like

Examples:
I don't like coffee.
John doesn't like pizza.
John and David don't like milk.
My mother doesn't like to travel.
Common Errors
In the present simple negative, do not add -s:
Martha doesn't likes to dance. Martha doesn't like to dance.
Other common errors:
Pete no like bananas. Pete not like bananas.
Pete doesnt like bananas.

Simple Present Tense: Question

Do

I / you / we / they

live in a city?

Does

he / she / it

live in a city?

Examples:
Do you live in Brazil?
Does Adam live in England?
Do they live in a big house?
Does she live near the beach?

Common Errors
1) In questions, don't use -s:
Does she lives close to the beach? Does she live close to the beach?
2) Dont forget DO or DOES:
Clara live in a big city?
Does Clara live in a big city?

Answering Yes/No Questions

In Simple Present Tense
Do you have a dog?
Yes, I do. / No, I don't
Do I look fat in these jeans?
No, you dont!
Does John speak Italian?
Yes, he does. / No, he doesn't.
Does she like rock music?
Yes, she does. / No, she doesnt.
Do we watch too much TV?
Yes, we do. / No, we dont.
Do they understand English?
Yes, they do. / No, they don't.

Can / Cant / Must / Mustnt

Have to / Dont have to
Can

Its OK

Cant / Mustnt

Its not OK

Have to / Must

Its necessary / obligatory

Dont have to
Doesnt have to

Its not necessary /

obligatory (its optional)

(must / mustnt are more formal)

You can ride your bike here.

You cant smoke here.

You mustnt smoke here.

Can / Cant / Must / Mustnt

Have to / Dont have to

FREE FOOD!
You have to stop here.
You must stop here.

You dont have to pay

for the food.

Prepositions (kata depan):

In, At, On

Si Kucing didalam kotak

Si kucing diatas kotak

Penggunaan in, on dan at

TIME (waktu)

IN

Months
In January In October
Seasons
In the summer In the spring
Years
In 2004
In 1986

PLACE(tempat)
Cities and countries
In Tokyo In Japan
Rooms and buildings
In the kitchen
In the supermarket

Closed spaces
In the car In a park
Periods of the day In the morning In the evening
(exception: at night)

ON

TIME

PLACE

Dates and days

Transportation

On Monday
On February 14th

On the bus On a bike

(exception: in a car)

Surfaces
On the table On the wall

AT

TIME

PLACE

Times

Contexts / Events

At 6:00
At half past three At noon

At school At work At a party

Simple Past Tense with To Be

Positive:
I / he / she / it

was

born in 1982.

you / we / they

were

born in 1982.

Negative:
I / he / she / it

was not (wasnt)

born in Europe.

you / we / they

were not (werent)

born in Europe.

Was

I / he / she / it

a famous artist?

Were

you / we / they

a famous artist?

Questions:

Common words used to talk about the past:

Yesterday
Last Sunday / last week / last month / last November / last year
1 hour ago / 5 days ago / 3 months ago / 10 years ago When I was a child / Whe

~ 18
~

Simple Past Tense with Regular Verbs

Bentuk Positive:
I / you / he / she / it / we / they

worked

yesterday

didnt work

yesterday

work

yesterday?

Bentuk Negative:
I / you / he / she / it / we / they

Bentuk Interrogative:
Did

I / you / he / she / it
/ we / they

How to form the past simple for regular verbs

( Cara membentuk kata kerja beraturan):
Verb 1

Verb 2

Spelling

liste
n
pla
like
decid
e
stop

listene
d
playe
liked
decid
ed
Stopped

Add ed
(Tambahkan akhiran ed pada
V1)

stud
y
try

studie
d
tried

Add d
(Tambahkan akhiran d pada V1)
One vowel + one consonant
= double the final consonant
and add -ed
One consonant + y
-ied

In past simple negative and questions, do not add ed :

Mary didnt liked the movie.
Mary didnt like the movie.
Did you studied for the test? Did you study for the test?

Examples:
I talked with my mother last night.
We enjoyed the party on Saturday.
She finished the test early.
He didnt listen to the teachers instructions.
They didnt want to join us for coffee.
Jill didnt stay in a hotel last summer.
Did you watch the news yesterday?
Did they remember to turn off the lights?
What time did your father arrive?

Simple Past Tense with Irregular Verbs

Infinitive

Positive

Negative

be

was / were

wasnt / werent

buy

bought

didnt buy

can

could

couldnt

eat

ate

didnt eat

get

got

didnt get

go

went

didnt go

have

had

didnt have

leave

left

didnt leave

make

made

didnt make

meet

met

didnt meet

say

said

didnt say

see

saw

didnt see

take

took

didnt take

think

thought

didnt think

understand

understood

didnt understand

wear

wore

didnt wear

write

wrote

didnt write

Examples:
Where were you last month? (Dimana kamu bulan lalu?)
I was in France. (Saya berada di Prancis.)
What did your sister buy at the mall?
She bought new shoes.
What time did he eat breakfast today?
He ate breakfast at 6:00 AM.
When did you get married?
We got married in July.
Why did she go to London?
She went to London to study English.
Did you have any pets when you were a child?
Yes, I had a dog.
When did he leave the meeting?
He left the meeting an hour before it finished
What did you make for dinner?
I made some vegetable soup.
When did you meet your best friend?
I met my best friend 20 years ago.
What did the teacher say?
The teacher said that she loved our class.
Did you see Brad at the football game?
No, but we saw Peter and Henry.
What did he wear to the wedding?
He wore a suit.
Did he write a new book last year?
No, he only wrote a few magazine articles.

There is / There are

Singular

Plural

(+ Theres a pillow on the sofa.

)
(- There isnt a mirror in
)
the bathroom.

There are two pillows on the

bed.
There arent any windows in
the bedroom.

(?
)

Are there any chairs?

Yes, there are. / No, there arent.

Is there a table?
Yes, there is. / No, there
isnt.

Theres a pillow on the sofa.

Is there a table? Yes, there is.

There are two pillows on the bed.

Are there any chairs?

No, there arent.

Present Continuous: Positive

Present continuous is for things happening now, at the moment.
I

am

watching

you / we / they

are

watching

he / she / it

is

watching

Examples:
I am watching TV right now.
He is studying at the moment.
It is raining today.
We are thinking about you.
They are playing baseball.
Its very common to use contractions:
I'm watching TV right now. He's studying at the moment. It's raining today.
We're thinking about you.
They're playing baseball.

Some verbs are never used in the present continuous: like, want, need,
Im believing in God.
I believe in God. Shes wanting a soda. She wants a soda.

Present Continuous: Negative

I

am not
(Im not)

listening

you / we / they

are not
(arent)

listening

he / she / it

is not
(isnt)

listening

Examples:
I am not working at the moment.
She is not wearing a hat today.
You are not listening to the teacher.
Pete and Jan are not watching TV.

There are two ways to use contractions:

Shes not wearing a hat today. She isnt wearing a hat today. Youre not listeni
Both forms are OK!

Present Continuous: Questions

Am

working?

Are

you / we / they

working?

Is

he / she / it

working?

Examples:
Are you writing a letter?
Is Pedro sleeping right now?
Are the children playing a game or reading a book?
Is the computer working?
You can put a question word at the beginning:

What are you doing? Im writing an e-mail. Where is Sarah going? Shes going t
Theyre talking to the teacher.
Why is he running?
Because hes late for work.

Grammar Exercises:

Present Simple or Continuous?

Present simple for things that happen in general or regularly.
Present continuous for things happening now, at the moment, or
current/temporary projects.

Present Simple

Present Continuous

I work from 9:00 AM to 5:00

PM every day.

Im currently working on a
new project.

Mark studies English

every Tuesday night.
We usually go to Europe in
the summer.

Mark is studying the

present continuous this
week.
Right now, were going to
the supermarket.

They always talk to their boss

in the morning.

Its 9:00 AM. Theyre talking

to him now.

Does it usually rain in the winter?

No, but its raining at

the moment. Take an
umbrella.

Words that are often used with the present simple or continuous:

With present simple: always, usually, often, sometimes, never, every (day/nigh
With present continuous: now, right now, at the moment, currently, this week

Grammar Exercises:

Countable and Uncountable

Countable nouns are things we can count for example, cats:
My brother has a cat.
My sister has two cats.
My friend has three cats.
Other examples of countable nouns:
Things - book, table, computer, banana, shirt, television, house.
People - man, woman, child, friend, sister, uncle, teacher, boss.

Uncountable nouns are words that we cant count, or cant divide

into separate parts:
Liquids and some foods - water, butter, rice, flour, milk
Ideas and concepts - love, fun, work, money, peace, safety
Information - advice, information, news, knowledge
Categories - music, furniture, equipment, jewelry, meat

Countable

Uncountable

dollar /

money

dollars song /

music

songs table /

furniture

tables bottle /

wine,

bottles report

water

/ reports job /

informatio

jobs

n work

Dont add -s to make uncountable nouns plural:

I need some informations about the course. I need some information about the c
You can use other words to help quantify uncountable nouns:
She bought three bottles of wine and five boxes of rice.
He gave me two pieces of advice: eat less and exercise more.

Grammar Exercise:

Future with Going To

Use going to to talk about future plans and predictions.

Shes going to have a baby

next month.

Its going to rain soon.

Positive:
Full Form

Contracted Form

I am
You
are
He / she / it
is We are
They are

Im
Your
e
Hes / Shes /
Its Were
Theyre

going to take a
test tomorrow.

In fast spoken English, going to often sounds like gonna:

Were gonna take a test tomorrow.

Negative:
Full Form

Contracte
d Form 1

Contracte
d Form 2

I am not
You are not
He / she is
not It is not
We are not
They are not

Im not
Youre not
Hes / Shes not
Its not
Were not
Theyre
not

--You arent
He / she isnt
It isnt
We arent
They arent

going to
take a
test
tomorro
w.

Question:
A
m
Ar
e
Is
Ar

I
you
he / she /
it we
they

going to take a test tomorrow?

Dont forget am/is/are!

I going to buy some new shoes next week.
Im going to buy some new shoes next week.
She not going to watch TV.
Shes not going to watch TV.
They going to get married in June.
Theyre going to get married in June.

Grammar Exercise: Future with Going to

Comparative Adjectives
Use comparatives to compare two things:
Phil is older than Ben.
Ben is younger than Phil.

For One-Syllable Words

Add er

Tall Old Fast Taller

Long New
Older Faster Longer Newer

My new car is faster than my old car.

I'm older than my brother.
Traveling by bike takes longer than traveling by motorcycle.

For Words that end in a vowel + consonant

Double the last consonant and add er
Big Hot Thin

Bigger Hotter Thinner

An elephant is bigger than a cat.

Brazil is hotter than Sweden.
My sister is thinner than me.

For Words that end in consonant + y

Remove -y and add -ier.

Easy Happy BusyEasier Happier Busier

Reading English is easier than listening.

Maria is happier than Dave.
People today are busier than in the past.

For Words with 3+ syllables

Add more before the adjective:
ExpensiveMore
Popular
expensive
Interesting
More popular More interesting

A car is more expensive than a computer.

Michael Jackson's music is more popular than country music.
Watching a movie is more interesting than studying grammar.

Adjectives with Irregular Comparatives

Good Bad Far

Better Worse Farther

Eating fruit is better for your health than eating hamburgers.

Cancer is worse than the flu.
One mile is farther than one kilometer.
Grammar Exercise:

Superlative Adjectives
Use superlatives to compare three or more things:

Jim is the oldest person in the family.

Kelly is the youngest person in the family.

Adjective

Superlative

Old

the oldest

Big

the biggest

Easy

the easiest

Friend

the

ly

friendliest

Beautifu

the most beautiful

the most

Expensiv

expensive the

e Good

best

Ba

the worst

Examples:
My grandmother is the oldest person in my family.
Russia is the biggest country in the world.
This is the easiest test I've ever taken.
Barry is the friendliest guy in the class.
Donna is the most beautiful woman I've ever seen.
The most expensive shoes in the world cost 1.5 million dollars.
I like all sports, but I like soccer the best.
Picking up garbage was the worst job I've ever had.
Australia is the farthest I've ever traveled.

Dont forget the!

I read newest lesson from Espresso English.
I read the newest lesson from Espresso English.

Superlatives are often used with the present perfect + ever:

This is the best sushi I've ever eaten.

What's the most expensive car you've ever driven? The longest book I've ever
Jan is the friendliest person I've ever met.

Grammar Exercise:

Adverbs
Use adjectives to describe nouns (things or people).
Use adverbs to describe verbs (how a person does something):
That was a terrible game. (adjective describes game)
The team played terribly. (adverb describes played)

Common adverbs:
Adjective

Adverb

slow

slowly

quiet

quietly

bad

badly

beautif

beautifully

ul

dangerousl

dangerou

y carefully

s careful

easily

easy

healthily

healthy

well

good

fas

fas

har

Adverbs

Examples:
My grandfather drives slowly, but I drive fast.
The teacher spoke so quietly that I couldnt hear her.
I can read English well, but I speak badly.
Evan lives dangerously. He loves radical sports.
We wrote the letter carefully so as not to make a mistake.
I opened the jar easily.
Soccer players need to eat healthily to stay in good shape.
Janet works very hard. She arrives at work early and leaves late.

Adjectives go before the noun. Adverbs usually go after the verb:

Ruth is a quiet person. (quiet describes person)
Ruth speaks quietly. (quietly describes speaks)

Grammar Exercise:

Present Perfect: Verb

Use the present perfect in two
situations:
1) To talk about experiences in the past, when we dont know
or dont say exactly when the experience happened.

Examples:
Have you been to Italy?
Yes, Ive been there three times.
Have you been to Rio de
Janeiro?
No, I havent. I dont like hot weather.
Has Diana been to a rock concert?
Yes, many times!
Has your brother been to a big sports event?
No, he hasnt. He hates sports.
2) To talk about an action or state that started in the
past and continues to the present.

Examples:
How long have you been married?
Ive been married for five years.
How long has John been a teacher?
Hes been a teacher since last January.

Positive
Full Form

Short Form

I have
You have
We have
They
have
He / she / it has

Ive
Youv
e
Weve
Theyv
Hes / shes / its

been to Paris.

been to Paris.

Negative
Full Form

Short Form

I have not
You have not
We have not
They have
not
He / she / it has not

I havent
You
havent
We
havent
He / she / it hasnt

been to Paris.

been to Paris.

Question
Auxiliary Verb

Subject

Have

I / you / we / they

been to Paris?

Has

he / she / it

been to Paris?

Present Perfect: Other Verbs

Regular verbs
Verb

Past
Participle

Example

trav
el
watc
h
pass
try

travel
ed
watche
d
passe
d tried

Ive traveled to 15 countries in my

life. She hasnt watched the movie
yet.
Weve passed our English test.
Have you tried restarting the
computer? Theyve recently stopped

Irregular verbs
Verb

Past

Past Participle

brea
k
buy
do
eat
get
give
go
kno
w
leav
e
mak
e
mee
t
see

brok
e
boug
ht did
ate
got
gav
e
we
nt
kne
w
left
ma
de
met
saw

broke
n
bough
t done
eaten
gotte
n
given
gone
know
n left
made
met
seen
taken
told
thoug

Examples:
I cant find my car keys. Have you seen them?
No, I havent. Sorry.
Weve written more than 100 e-mails in the past week.
My cousin has met a lot of famous people in her life.
Have you ever broken a bone?
Yes, I have.
Has she ever eaten Vietnamese food?
No, she hasnt.
Have you ever thought about moving to another country?
Weve thought about it, but we havent told our kids.
The teacher hasnt given us any homework yet.
Camilo has made a lot of mistakes in his life.
Have you ever gotten lost while driving?
No, I havent but my mother has!
Kristin has never taken singing classes.

Grammar Exercise:

Present Perfect or Past Simple

Use the present perfect to talk about a general experience in the
past. Use the past simple to talk about a specific moment in the
past.
Have you seen the new Mission Impossible film?
Yes, I have.
When did you see it?
I saw it last week.
Use the present perfect for unspecified time:
Ive seen the new Mission Impossible film.
|-------------------?--------------|------------------------------------|
past

present

future

Use the past simple for specified time:

I saw the new Mission Impossible film last week.
|-------------------------|-------|------------------------------------|
past

last week

present

future

Use the present perfect to talk about an action that started in the
past and continues to the present. Use the past simple to talk about
an action that started and finished in the past.
Use the present perfect for unfinished time:
Ive lived in Brazil for three years. (and I live in Brazil now)
|----------------|>>>>>>>>>>|------------------------------------|
past

3 years ago

present

future

Use the past simple for finished time:

I lived in Brazil for three years. (and I dont live in Brazil now)
|-------|>>>>>>>>>>|--------|-----------------------------------|
past

period of 3 years

Grammar Exercise:

present

future